James ii



(N0 Modem J. H. GEORGE. ELECTROLYTIC BATH AND APPLIANGE.

No. 553,732. Patnted Jan. 28,1896.

INVENTOH M.FNOTO UTHO WIEHINGTUN UL UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

JAMES H. GEORGE, OF NEIV YORK, N. Y.

ELECTROLYTIC BATH AND APPLIANCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 553,732, dated January 28, 1896.

Application filed May 8, 1895. Serial No. 548,487. (No model.)

To aZZ whomjt may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES II. GEORGE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electrolytic Baths and Appliances, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a mechanism for electroplating large surfaces, and it has special reference to what is known as the bath for containing the electroplating solution. Ordinarily the bath is a vessel to hold the solution, into which are placed or suspended the articles to be plated; but when the article cannot be placed within a containing-vessel it is necessary to make a shallow bath capable of being affixed to the object and held in close contact therewith, so as to hold the liquid therein while the deposition is in progress. Various patents have been obtained for this purpose, and special reference is made to Patent No. 498,707, which shows a type of this class of inventions specially adapted to electroplate the hulls of vessels. It is obvious that in order to make a bath adapted to conform itself to the varying 0011- tour of the hull special mechanism must be devised, and, accordingly, said patent referred to shows various mechanical appliances consisting essentially of a bath having a flexible lining and provided with a packing around the edges of the bath to retain the solution in the confined space. This packing is flexible, as well as the lining, and is well adapted to make the contact edge with the hull liquid-proof, but where the inequalities in the hull are great this packing is entirely inadequate; and, further, as the curved and depressed surfaces of the body of the ship at various arcs are great and formed of various arcs it is important to have the bath itself conform to the outlines. To accomplish this said bath shows a bath built up of wooden strips jointed together and bound with metal cleats, so as to give flexibility thereto, thus forming a backing for the flexible lining with which it is closed while in use. In order now to apply this structure a frame must be made to hold it in position against the hull, all of which entails costly expenditure. Besides, as

the plating of a vessel, for instance, is a costly piece of work, it is absolutely necessary to make the baths large, so as to cover as large an area as possible, or the time consumed, to say nothing of the cost, would be too onerous. A large bath of that structure is exceedingly diflicult to handle, as I have found by practical experience in electroplating a large vessel by the means set forth in that patent; but the principal objection, aside from the ones just named, is in the inability to make the edges of the bath liquid-proof, without calking, after the bath is placed in position. I am not aware that any prior inventor has ever practically electroplated an entire vessel. Hence these difficulties could not be determined. In order, therefore, to overcome these objections and construct the appliances cheaply enough to make it a commercial success, Ihave devisedabath particularly adapted for all surfaces, which is simple in structure and easily applied, thus obviating all cumbrous devices to hold them in position, and owing to their lightness enabling them to be quickly shifted from place to place, all

of which will now be set forth in detail.

I11 the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of my improved bath for electroplating purposes; Fig. 2, a cross-section of the same. Fig. 3 is a sectional View enlarged of one wall of the bath, showing the structure of the concaved contact edge with its flexible web; Fig. 4, a view of outline of the curved portion of the hull of a vessel with a bath applied and connected up with the solution-tank, exhaust-pump, and dynamo; Fig. 5, a view of hinged bifurcated shoringpiece; Fig. 6, a vessel-outline with bath in contact therewith and shoring-pieces in position; Fig. 7, a view showing manner of holding the anode in the bath, and Fig. 8 a sectional view of anode-holder.

In constructing the invention for practical uses it is necessary to have the entire bath flexible, but at the same time there must be enough rigidity in the body thereof so that it will not collapse by the weight of the solution placed therein. The bath A is therefore preferablymade of papier-mach or of other flexible material, which is at the same time a nonconductor of electricity' I do not confine myself to papier-mach, as it is obvious that numerous materials are equally adapted for the purpose; but in any case I construct the entire bath in one piece, so that it is a homogeneous structure, which is essential, for the reason that if it is made in parts or sections and fastened together the body in being bent or warped to make it conform to the curves of the hull, together with the action of the acidulated solution, has a tendency to produce leakage at the joined parts. Furthermore, a bath made in one piece, pressed or molded, can be cheaply made, is strong and durable, and is not likely to get out of order. While such a bath could be held in position by shoring-pieces or external appliances, it is much more desirable for ease in manipulation to have the bath itself equipped with means for attaching itself to the external body to be plated. To this end the edge of the body is provided with a concaved web B or a flange interiorly as well as exteriorly extending entirely around the bath, and at one end I provide a tubular connection (1, which is supplied with a valve or petcock I), and this pipe connects with an exhaust-pump E located at any suitable point. \Vhen, therefore, the bath is placed in position against the hull of a vessel and suction is applied at the pipe 0, the at mospheric pressure will be great enough to hold the bath in position, together with the weight of the solution within the bath. Any number of these baths may be thus placed along the sides of the vessel and operated by the same pump.

If the body A and flanges B are made of sufficiently flexible material, the flanges will adapt themselves to much greater inequalities than would be possible with ordinary lining or packing, butif the material composing the body is not sufficiently flexible a flexible web F with its edges projecting beyond the edges of the more rigid web flanges B may be used, so that the suction of the pump will bring this flexible web into intimate contact with the hull U and prevent leakage, at the same time holding the bath firmly in place. I prefer to have the exterior flange of the web projecting out farther than the inner flange, so as to provide a resting-place for the shoring-pieces,one of which is shown in Fig. 5 and other views in Fig. 6, where these are illustrated as having their bifurcated ends astride the bath and resting against the external flanges. The objeet of these shoring-pieces is to first bend the baths against the hull U, so as to bring the flanges Bin contact, after which the pump E is employed to exhaust the air from the cavity G formed by the concave web.

A curved yoke I is adapted to be placed astride the bath A, so that the ends of the yoke will rest on the external flanges l3, and a shoring-piece II has one of its ends hinged to this yoke, centrally, so that when the lower end of the shore-piece H rests against the side wall J of the dock the bath will be forcibly pressed against the side of the vessel. Any suitable means may be employed by extensible shores or otherwise to procure this adjustment.

As it is necessary to provide the baths with means for holding the anode in position, the side walls of the bath are provided with plugs K which are held in position by flanged heads L, through which a screw M is placed. The inner end of the plug is slotted, and a sliding wedge N rests therein, so that the screw M is in contact with it. The anode O is placed in the slot and the screw and wedge are then employed to clamp it in position. Electrical contact is made with the flanged heads L, as shown at F. The dotted line, Fig. 8, shows the opposite side of the opening within which the plug slides.

Fig. 4 shows the preferred form of securing the bath to the vessel and connecting up the supply-reservoir Q, the dynamo R and pump E. The exhaust-pump pipe S is preferably attached either to the lower end or the lower side of the bath, so that should the liquid find its way into the channel G by the action of the pump it will be immediately drained out, and in order to prevent the liquid from finding its way into the pump a drain-tank T is located between the bath and the pump, suitably connected up so-that the moisture will be intercepted, and it can be drawn from the tank and used again instead of being lost.

These baths may be made in any standard sizes, and any number may be used in series and the same pump and dynamo used for the entire series to facilitate the operation.

I am aware that it is not new to claim, broadly, a flexible bath for the uses herein set forth, as it is well known in the art to which this pertains to prepare a bath or envelope intended to inclose the entire sides of the vessel in order to electrically deposit the metal over the entire surface at the same time; but my invention is designed to electroplate only a small portion of the hull-surface with a bath. Hence they must be made sectional in character and so adapted as to be adjusted to the conformation of that section covered by the bath. For that reason the body of the bath must be made flexible or yielding, and I lay no claim to a bath made of canvas or cloth, because the bath itself must be rigid enough to sustain itself and its contents.

What I claim as new is- 1. As a new article of manufacture, a sectional bath for holding a solution composed of a homogeneous,flexible, and insulating material,pro'vided with a concaved web, and sufficiently rigid to hold the containing solution, substantially as set forth.

2. A11 electroplating bath having 011 its edges a concaved web, to force contact with an exterior surface, the entire body and Web molded or cast in one piece of flexible or yielding material, substantially as set forth.

3. An electroplating-bath having its body composed of flexible material and its edge provided with a concaved edge having an exterior tubular connection, in combination with an exhaust-pump, for hydrostatically producing contact between said web and an exterior surface, substantially as herein set forth.

4. An electroplating-bath having its body homogeneous and composed of flexible material, provided with a concaved double flange, clothed with a flexible web, the exterior flange being at right angles to the side of said bath to receive the shoring or staying appliances, substantially as herein set forth.

5. An electroplating bath composed of flexible material having at its edge an external flange, in combination with a shore having hinged bifurcated ends which rest against said flange and hold the bath in position against the external surface to be treated, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination with a bath having a concaved web on its outer side extending entirely around the same, of a shore havingbifurcated ends, which rest on the concaved web on opposite sides of the bath. 1

7. A sectional bath for electroplating external surfaces provided with a concaved web around the edges, having its entire body and said web composed of homogeneous, insulating and flexible material of sufficient rigidity to sustain itself and its contents, substantially as set forth.

8. A bath for electroplating purposes composed of flexible insulating material, in combination with a series of metallic anode-holders through the sides thereof, substantially as set forth.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 7th day of May, A. D. 1895.

JAMES H. GEORGE.

Witnesses:

RICHD. GRANT, HUGH MOORE. 

